Breaking the Limits
by Gentoki
Summary: This is about Tokine, Yoshimori, and Gen. If I would guess this probably happens somewhere in between Gen's first few appearances in the Anime. I'm basically trying to get a very deep and understanding of these events. Hopefully it's decent enough.
1. No Worries

It was a typical morning in the town Karasumori, as the golden sun streaked the sky creating a sort of angelic look. Many students were reluctantly making their way to their respective school, and the young Yoshimori was no different.

"Dammit! I'm going to be late again," he moaned while taking gulps of his favorite coffee milk drink.

Picking up the pace he eventually saw Tokine and her long swaying pony tail, some distance ahead of himself. Without any hesitation he called out to her, or rather hollered.

"What do you want, Yoshimori?" questioned Tokine in an even tone, as she continued walking, "if it's about Gen, then I don't want to hear it!"

"B-b-but you haven't even heard me out yet," exclaimed Yoshimori who was manically waving his hands in the air. It was so like Tokine to know exactly what was on his mind without him hardly saying a word. At times it was useful, especially on the battlefield, but in instances like these it was kind of annoying.

"Masamori placed him here to help us," voiced Tokine as she glanced over at a sulking Yoshimori, "and we just have to wait for him to feel more comfortable around us, that's all. Give him some time and I'm sure it will happen," she ended with a small smile.

Yoshimori couldn't help but roll his eyes at Tokine's words. He knew that what she was saying was probably true, but he couldn't sit around and wait for that to happen. If Gen was to be a part of the team, he would have to be able to trust the both of them.

"You're too nice to him, Tokine," he muttered in an angry tone, while folding his arms across his chest in a somewhat agitated pose, "he hardly says a word to us, and when he does I just want to punch him in the face! Masamori is out of his mind for putting that guy here. You and I were doing just fine before he ever came along…" trailing off he turned his attention to the quite Tokine who wore a gloomy look upon her face.

"W-w-w-what did I do now?" screamed Yoshimori with a sense of urgency in his voice, "I'm sorry! I won't talk bad about him anymore, I'm sorry!"

Tokine shook her head, as if to shake off the look, but failed to remove the emotion that was still lingering in her eyes.

"No, It's okay, Yoshimori," she said in an uneasy tone, as she flashed a small smile in his direction; which quickly disappeared, "…I try to be kind to him, so that maybe he'll accept me but it never seems to work. He's always so cold, and distant. I'm only worried that he'll always be like this..."

Yoshimori could sense the sadness that laced her words, and that alone infuriated him. It was one thing to treat him badly, but Tokine...that was a whole different story. There was no way he was going to stand back and let Gen's thoughtless actions go unscathed.

"That Gen…," thought Yoshimori as he gritted his teeth, "I'll make him apologize for hurting Tokine like this! Then I'll beat some sense to him as well! What a jerk."

"Hey!," continued Yoshimori in a voice of pure confidence and angst, "…don't worry about it. I'll take care of it, Tokine."

This straightforwardness of his statement took her by some surprise. Even though so much time had passed since then, she still awaited the whining child like responses that Yoshimori used to give. Lately, it seemed like those days were nothing but a figment of the imagination.

"What do you mean?" she inquired in her sweet tone, the one that always made Yoshimori's pulse race a billion times per second.

"Oh, nothing important," he snickered as a wide grin spread across his face, "…I'll see you after class!" With that he gave a quick wave and took off towards the school grounds; which were only a few feet away by this time.

"I…just hope he doesn't do anything reckless," thought Tokine as she slowly made her way towards the grounds as well, "…but I know for Yoshimori that's something unavoidable…" trailing off she then let out a sigh and tired to prepare herself for the worst possible outcome that could occur between the two boys.


	2. Blue Skies Don't Last Forever

The morning slowly dragged on for Tokine who sat quietly at her desk, detached from everything that was transpiring in her classroom. She kept replaying the incident that had happened earlier on the way to school.

"…don't worry about. I'll take care of it," rang the strong, unwavering voice of Yoshimori in her thoughts as she gazed blankly out the window, "…it makes me worry even more when he says things like that!" she ended not realizing she had spoken out loud this time.

"Miss. Yukimura, I hope you're referring to the class material," added the teacher, who stood firmly at the front of the classroom holding open a book, "if not I advise you stop daydreaming and focus!"

The whole class let out a small giggle, as a small blush over came Tokine who politely apologized and turned her attention to the reading material.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the academy, class continued on as normal for Yoshimori who was soundly sleeping at his desk or so it appeared to his unknowing classmates. The old shikigami switch-a-roo trick was one that was used quite often by the young kekkaishi, especially when it came to school.

High above all the other unsuspecting students was the real Yoshimori who lay comfortably upon the rooftop as he watched the white clouds push their way across the blue sky. Usually, this free time would have been used for getting some extra shut eye, but this day was entirely different. Sleep was the last thing on his restless mind. The image of the distressed Tokine swirled in his mind and gave him no ease.

"Gen…," thought the angry Yoshimori, as he sat up inside his blue kekkai and took a sip of his coffee milk, "you're such an idiot!"

It was then that he heard the slow steps of someone climbing up the ladder to the roof. Not wanting a stranger to openly see his kekkai he quickly dispersed it and sat in a slight defensive state.

As the figure came into the view, he was confused by who it was.

"I thought you might be up here," rang the sweet voice of Tokine, as she hopped onto the cement roof and fixed her uniform.

"W-w-what are you doing here," questioned Yoshimori, while trying to maintain a cool façade, "shouldn't you be hitting those books, and all that junk." He ended as he nonchalantly laid back down.

Tokine did nothing be smile at Yoshimori's comment, and proceeded to take a seat next to him. He really did know her well, study habits and all. It was something that she could not refute.

Her action caused Yoshimori to instantly sit right back up again. The nervousness he felt by being in such close proximity to never ceased to wear off, but it was something that he could deal with.

"I haven't been able to focus at all today," she muttered in a soft tone, as she looked kindly at Yoshimori whose eyes were completely drawn to hers, "…I don't know what's wrong with me." She laughed lightly in a manner that was meant to cover up for her true feelings.

"Yeah, me neither…" sighed Yoshimori, who withdrew his gaze and was now looking at the ground as he fiddled with some derby that had landed on the roof.

"I'm not sure if there's anything I can say to make her feel better," he thought while taking a small glance in Tokine's direction, "…I'm helpless as ever when it comes to things like this." There was one way that the 14 year old boy knew how to comfort her, but he decided against it thinking Tokine might bash skull in with a kekkai. That possibility caused him to cringe with pain.

"Tokine…," began Yoshimori in a clam voice, as he quickly rose to his feet, "I'm going to go find that Shishio." Finishing his sentence he turned to make his way off the roof but stopped when he felt a gentle tug at his sleeve.

"He's not here," she replied in a plain tone, as she slowly let go of Yoshimori, "I pulled aside Yuri at lunch, and…she said he hasn't been in class for two days now."

As the words reached his ears, Yoshimori couldn't help but feel a rush of anger sweep over him.

"Argh!," he screamed as his fists began to shake a little, which caused Tokine's eyes to grow large, "could he get any stupider! He's thinks he can just hide out alone, like a little baby forever! Well, he's got another thing coming!" If Gen wasn't at school, there was only on other place for him to be; which was at his apartment located only a few blocks away from the academy.

Tokine also knew this, and immediately insisted on accompanying Yoshimori.

"No way," he responded in a casual tone, "I can handle it, besides…you should be in class, anyways!" Yoshimori flashed her a quick grin, and then hastily hopped off the roof using his kekkai as steps.

She tried to call out to him, but it was really no use. No one could stop him when he had set his mind to something. Trying to catch up with him now, would also be impossible for her. The kekkai strength that Yoshimori had was far beyond that of her own, and even Tokine could admit that.

"I'll…have to wait till school is over," she thought as she made her way down the ladder to re-enter the high school side of the academy, "…I just wish there was more I could do…"

With that she pushed open the doors, and headed towards her homeroom. The anticipation for what awaited her was one that weighed heavy on both her mind and heart. As the clock slowly ticked away, she could only wonder how Yoshimori was going to handle the situation.


	3. No More Hiding

When Yoshimori had gained a good distance from the Academy, and knew for sure that Tokine hadn't followed him, he decided it best to take took to the ground. Landing with a "plop" sound, he then regained his surroundings and headed down a familiar back alley.

"I should be close by now, " he muttered under his breath while he looked up and down some buildings that were somewhat similar to the ones Gen lived in.

Soon enough the alley opened up to reveal a series of apartment complexes, and Yoshimori knew he had arrived at his destination. All the eagerness he had felt when he was on the roof of the Academy, suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a gut sinking one that caused him to come to a complete halt.

Lowering his gaze to look at his stomach, he then heard a loud growling noise that rang with emptiness. Yoshimori knew exactly what the problem was.

"Oh, man!" he whined in a childlike voice as he leaned up against a near by wall for support, "I forgot to eat lunch again, I think I'm going to die!"

It was almost funny how quickly his mind could be straight on one track but then change to another in an instant. This was just the type of thing that Tokine would surely give him grief about, probably saying something along the lines of "A clear, focused mind makes for a strong warrior" or some other type of proverb she had memorized.

This minor freak out lasted for several moments, but eventually it passed. In a heroic effort, Yoshimori then threw his fist into the air as if to gain some sort of resolve and proceeded to carry out his whole purpose for ditching school to begin with, to find Gen.

Crossing the empty road that separated the buildings from the back alley, he then found himself in front of a large flight of stairs. Instinctively he went up them, taking two at a time almost in a fast jog. The apartments all looked exactly the same from the outside, with the same off white colored paneling and door frame. Yoshimori couldn't help but wonder what they were like on the inside, but figured he would soon find out for himself.

Walking down the narrow rows that twisted and turned around every corner, he hastily read the name cards that were posted along the side of each door. He had no idea if he was even heading in the right direction at this point.

"Hanizuka...Mashiro...Yamada..," he read out-loud to himself as he starched his head in a thinking manner, "...It has to be around her somewhere!"

Turning around a corner, Yoshimori had realized that he had come to the end of the line with only one more apartment left. He knew he had finally found it, and therefore felt no reason to read the sign that hung half broken on the door.

From the outside it appeared as if no one was home, or ever there to begin with; however this didn't stop Yoshimori from pounding on the door with a brute force.

"Open up!," he yelled in a plain tone that echoed throughout the complex, "I know your in there, Gen! You can't hide from me!"

This scenario continued for what seemed like an eternity, before a subtle "click" noise was heard from the inside of the door. With that Yoshimori stopped his rant and backed off a little ways from the door. In instances like these, he was glad that he had an unwavering type of spirit because usually things always worked to his favor in the end.

His positive attitude, radiated throughout his body as the door slowly opened. Yoshimori had no idea what he was going to say, or even if Gen would let him. Regardless, things needed to be handled for the sake of the team.


End file.
